It is that time again. I have to "go dark." You might know that to be urban slang for going silent. In other words, it is time for me to stop blogging for a bit. (of course if I were truly going dark I'd get off facebook and stop texting as well!)
I realize that if it is not 1) my dissertation research/writing, 2) my course work or 3) my graduate research job - I don't have time to do it. I did not include exercise or healthy eating in that list because they are habits, like brushing my teeth. I won't stop doing them.
I have decided that for this parting post (before my temporary sabbatical), I will share an observation I've made regarding people's response to science. It seems to me that when people hear about studies that support their current practices, they believe them. If research challenges what people are comfortable doing, they do not believe it. This explains why so many people brush off studies that support climate change and embrace the few that 'disprove' it. If we believe the studies that confirm environmental harm, then we have to change. We have to drive less and use less coal and plastic, for example. If ONE study out of 100 does not show an increased risk of heart disease from eating too much, or lung cancer from smoking, than that is the study we call truth.
We tend to believe the science that lets us keep on doing what we have always done. Not really the best way to evaluate research.
Soon I will present the results of my research studies and they will no doubt generate similar controversy.
